


Christmas Birthday

by StaciNadia



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek Hale, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Birthday, Christmas, Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things, Derek is a Christmas Baby, Hale Family Feels, M/M, Memories, Past Kate Argent/Derek Hale, Pining Derek Hale, Sterek Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2018-05-09 16:11:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5546786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StaciNadia/pseuds/StaciNadia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek's family always made his Christmas birthday special, but they're not here anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Birthday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Waywardfangir1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waywardfangir1/gifts).
  * Translation into Español available: [Christmas Birthday [Traducción]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9108703) by [AnotherSigh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnotherSigh/pseuds/AnotherSigh), [CryptidBae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CryptidBae/pseuds/CryptidBae)



> Written for the Sterek Secret Santa on Tumblr! [Waywardfangir1](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Waywardfangir1) asked for angst with a happy ending, and I like the headcanon that Derek is born on Christmas, so here is some birthday angst!

The Hale Pack’s Christmas celebration was still going full swing, with plenty of talking and laughing with holiday music playing in the background. Most of the pack members spent Christmas morning and afternoon with their individual families, then headed to Derek’s loft for their evening celebration, loaded up with presents for each other.

Not only were they celebrating Christmas, it was also Derek’s birthday. It was tough having a birthday on such a big holiday. Just about everyone, even his extended family, treated his birthday as though it was just an add-on of Christmas. Deep down, he knew they didn’t mean anything by it, that they were just excited about Christmas, but it still hurt. His family had always made sure that his birthday was a special part of the day, too. He felt an urgent need to be at the only place where they still existed, if only in his memories.

Derek slipped out of the loft and slid the door closed behind him with a minimum of noise. As he walked out of the building, he was on the alert for anyone following him. But there was no noise outside of his loft and no conversations from the pack about where their Alpha had gone, so Derek felt secure that he was safe.

It was nearly 9pm when Derek stepped outside the building. No one was on the streets, so he stuck to the shadows and ran off toward the preserve.

The old Hale house still stood tall even though it had been ravaged by the fire that killed most of the pack and family, set by a hunter trying to kill as many werewolves as she could. Most of the walls were blackened where they weren‘t completed burned through. The structural damage was magnified inside the house. All of their belongings had been destroyed as well, and the second floor and higher weren’t safe at all with the many decaying holes in them. Derek had tried living there for a few months after he’d returned to Beacon Hills, but even as a werewolf, it was completely unlivable.

Standing outside and looking up at the house, Derek remembered one of the last birthdays he had with his family.

_It was Christmas night, and Derek was sitting in bed, one of the new books he’d gotten that day in his lap. To most people, it would have appeared that he was engrossed in reading it. But he was too excited to concentrate on what he was reading, though. He kept glancing at the clock on his dresser._

_9:46._

_A grin appeared on his face. Just one more minute to go. At this point, he couldn’t stop staring at the clock in anticipation. He could hear the four heartbeats of his family congregating outside of his door, trying to muffle their soft giggles. He rolled his eyes with a smirk. Like he wouldn’t hear them even if they made not even the tiniest noise. He stuck a bookmark in his place and set the book down on the nightstand._

_As the clock changed to 9:47, the time Derek was told he was born, his mother, father, and sisters all burst into his room. His little sister, Cora, ran over to the bed and flung herself into her brother‘s arms. “Derek! Happy birthday, Derek!” She kissed him on his cheek._

_His mother and Alpha, Talia, shook her head with a smile. “Cora could barely wait. I think she was nearly as excited as you! ” She set down the birthday cake with candles she was carrying on the dresser and walked over to Derek and bestowed another kiss on his cheek. “Happy birthday, darling.”_

_His father came over and clapped him on the back. “Happy birthday, son! Fifteen now, huh?”_

_Derek nodded with a grin._

_“Happy birthday, baby bro!” Laura exclaimed, sitting on the bed with her siblings and squeezing Derek so tightly, he could barely breathe. “Soon you’ll be driving just like me!”_

_“Hey, let me go, Laura!” Derek managed to squeak out breathlessly, trying to push Laura away._

_“Never!” She laughed in response, loosening her hold on her brother, but giving him a noogie instead._

_They spent the rest of the evening in Derek’s room, smiling and laughing and eating the cake that his mother made. It was a time just for him that his family carved for a few hours out of Christmas. Sitting there on his bed surrounded by his family who loved him made him so very happy. He hoped that he would have this feeling for always._

Derek’s eyes were watering, though the tears didn‘t fall down his cheeks. He didn’t get to have that forever. It was just a couple of years later when Kate Argent burned down their house and killed most of the Hales.   
He shook his head and took a deep breath. His watch said there was just ten minutes left.

Suddenly, he could hear an old engine and one heartbeat approaching. He recognized Stiles’ heartbeat and his ancient jeep immediately. He had thought that he would want to have this time alone to mourn his family, but he was actually glad that Stiles had come.

When Stiles arrived at the Hale house a couple of minutes later, he didn’t immediately go over to Derek. Instead he went over to the passenger side, opened the door, and fiddled with something that made small electronic noises for a moment before going over to Derek, leaving the door open.

“Stiles,” the Alpha stated as the teenager approached. “What are you doing here?”

Stiles shrugged. “Looking for you, big guy. You were gone, so I figured you came here. Guess I was right!”

Derek just stared at him for a moment, then turned back to the old house without another word. Stiles, thankfully, stayed silent as well, for which Derek was grateful. But out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the teenager heading back to his jeep. He sighed under his breath in disappointment. 

Finally, his watch read 9:46. He tore his thoughts from Stiles and trained his eyes on his watch. The second hand made a tiny clicking noise as it slowly moved around the watch face toward the 12. Towards yet another year of nobody being there to celebrate the time of his birth.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

It was 9:47. Derek let out a long breath as his shoulders slumped. _Happy birthday to me…_

“Happy birthday, Derek!” 

Derek spun around in shock. There was Stiles, holding his laptop in his hands with the screen facing towards Derek. On the screen was Cora, clearly over Skype, as she was currently in South America. Both of them had huge grins on their faces.

“I know I can’t be in Beacon Hills with you and your pack anymore,” Cora said, “but I still wanted to be there for your birthday. I remember how much you loved us having a special moment to celebrate with you.”

Stiles set his laptop on the hood of his jeep and stuck his top half into the passenger side of the jeep, fiddling with something. Derek heard a small woosh and the faint smell of fire. He started to growl but quickly reined it it. Stiles would never hurt him. 

Stiles finally came out of the jeep holding a small birthday cake with a lit candle on the top. “Don’t worry, I didn’t use matches! Just a lighter. Now, make a wish!”

Derek closed his eyes. _I wish I could be with Stiles._ He blew gently, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that the candle had gone out

“Awesome!” Stiles grinned, patting him on the back. “That means your wish will come true!”

Before Derek could react to Stiles’ words, Cora interrupted. “Hey, Stiles, can I have a private conversation with my brother? Just for a little bit.”

Stiles saluted his laptop. “Sure thing, Cora! Just make sure you save me a piece of cake, Derek!”

He scampered off to the other side of the Hale house. Derek could hear him singing Christmas carols, trying to give the siblings some privacy, despite the fact that his human hearing would never hear their conversation. He appreciated the effort, though.

“Stiles wanted to do something special for your birthday,” Cora commented. “He asked me a few weeks ago what sorts of traditions we had. So I told him.” She paused for a moment, scrutinizing Derek’s face. “You’re not mad because it was an only family thing, are you?”

“No,” Derek was quick to respond. “No.” Stiles _was_ family, even more than the rest of the pack.

“Stiles really cares about you, you know.” Cora continued, examining her nails, painted red and green for the holidays. “You really should do something about that.”

“He could do a lot better than me, Cora.” He spoke so lowly that even if Stiles was on the same side of the yard as he was, he wouldn’t be able to hear a word. 

Werewolf hearing worked even on Skype, so Cora was able to hear Derek perfectly. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, stop being a martyr, Derek! You deserve some happiness, too! Are you going to let what happened rule your life forever? When are you going to stop punishing yourself?”

Derek glared at his sister. “It’s my fault they all died! You know that!” he hissed harshly yet softly, glancing over his shoulder in the direction Stiles wandered off in. “I was the one who told Kate about us. I’m responsible for our family dying!”

Cora shook her head. “She just used you!” She yelled just as softly back. “ _She’s_ the one who lit the fire and killed everyone! I know it’s not your fault, and if they were here, our family would say it, too! You know it in your heart, Derek… And that‘s final!” She finished simply, as if that was the end of the conversation. “Now,” she said with her more characteristic smirk, “I know you like Stiles, too. If you don’t say something, I might let something slip the next time we Skype.”

Derek paled. “You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, yes, I would!” Cora said gleefully. “Now come on, Derek, go over and say something to him!” She made a shooing motion with her hands. “Get going and get your Stiles! And happy birthday again, Derek!”

After saying goodbye to Cora, he slowly walked around the house to where Stiles was. He had no idea if he could do this. He hadn’t had a relationship since Kate. He’d slept with a few people since, both men and women, but he hadn’t since he’d met Scott and Stiles in the preserve that fateful day two years prior. First, Stiles was too young, and as Derek grew to know him more, he knew he wasn’t good enough for Stiles. Stiles was full of energy and sarcastic and talked too much. He needed someone who was as much fun as him, who wasn‘t cursed with bad things.

Stiles was rocking back and forth on his toes, still humming Christmas songs. He looked up and noticed Derek approaching. He grinned and ran over. “Did you have a good conversation with Cora? I was singing and humming so I wouldn’t hear you even though I know that I don’t have awesome werewolf hearing. You know, there’s a Batman version of Jingle Bells, but Batman is amazing and he totally doesn’t smell, and…” he stopped suddenly, looking sheepish. “You really should tell me to shut up, you know.”

Derek shook his head. “I… like the way you ramble on about things.”

“Oh, Sourwolf,” Stiles said with a fond smile. “That is the nicest thing you‘ve said to me!”

“I could say nicer if…” Derek took a deep breath. “…Maybe if you’d go to dinner with me next week?”

Stiles looked surprised, then smiled brightly. “You mean a date? I’d love to go on a date with you, Sourwolf!” He ran over and hugged the older man tightly. “I got the best Christmas gift _ever_!” he crowed.

_No,_ Derek thought as he returned Stiles’ hug. _I got the best birthday present ever._

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't mention the other pack members, since this story focuses on the Hales and Stiles, but I like to imagine that Allison, Erica, and Boyd are still alive, and Kira joined the pack as well. Derek is still Alpha, and he never dated/slept with Jennifer.
> 
> My mom does something similar to this on my birthday. I was born late at night, so she would always wake me up at the time of my birth and sing "Happy Birthday" to me. In later years, she'd call me, even at work. Now she has me wake her up so she can sing to me. She's done this for 40 years now, and it always makes me very happy. 
> 
> Come visit me on my [Tumblr](http://stacinadia.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
